Jay Stansfield scored twice as a strong Birmingham City side thrashed Fulham’s under 21s 7-1 to knock Hayden Mullins’ men out of the Football League Trophy at St. Andrew’s last night.

The former Fulham striker, who moved to Blues for £15m on transfer deadline day, was one of the four players retained from in Chris Davies’ starting line-up that secured a 1-1 draw against Mansfield Town on Saturday. Stansfield saw a shot blocked by Samuel Amissah but he got his name on the scoresheet seventeen minutes in when he outpaced the visiting defence to reach a brilliant ball from Willum Willumsson and drove clinically past Alex Borto.

But the Whites were back on level terms within five minutes through a moment of magic from winger Martial Godo. The ex-Margate man produced a peach of a finish from distance, curling a fine finish into the top corner after being afforded the time to work on a shooting angle on his right foot. Alfie May almost restored Blues’ lead but his tame chip was well held by Borto before Josh King’s twinkle toes worked some space in the penalty area only for an alert Bailey Peacock-Farrell to save smartly.

Stansfield added a vital second right on the stroke of half time that altered the complexion of the contest – demonstrating that reliable finisher’s instinct once again after being threaded through by another perfectly weighted Willumsson pass after a lovely bit of link-up play between the Icelandic international and his compatriot Alfons Sampsted.

The visitors came close to a second equaliser right at the start of the second period but Peacock-Farrell spread himself well to deny Kristian Sekularac but Birmingham soon began dictating terms as their midfield took control of the contest. Stansfield shot straight at Borto before Willumson rifled an effort over the crossbar, but you sensed a third goal was coming.

It arrived ten minutes after the break when the lively Ayumu Yokoyama cut in from the left and tricked his way past Ollie Gofford before beating Borto at his near post. A flowing move produced a fourth for City when Taylor Gardner-Hickman’s clever outside of the foot pass gave Stansfield another sight of goal. Rather than complete his hat-trick, the in-form forward fed Willumson instead, whose disguised shot allowed May a tap-in.

Yokoyama added his second of the evening fifteen minutes from time when he volleyed home emphatically after May’s cross had deflected into his path. It was an outstanding finish and emphasised the gulf between the League One leaders and Fulham’s brightest academy graduates. Keshi Anderson spurned a great chance to make it six when he fired wide of the past but the former Swindon winger grabbed a deserved goal in stoppage time when he turned home a Ben Davies ball despite losing his footing.

On a chastening night for Fulham’s youngsters, there was still time for Scottish striker Lyndon Dykes to score his first Blues goal since making the move from Queens Park Rangers when he stabbed home from Sampsted’s cross at the second attempt.

BIRMINGHAM CITY (4-2-3-1): Peacock-Farrell; Sampsted, Cochrane (Laird 67), Klarer (Davies 67), Sanderson; Gardner-Hickman, Leonard; May, Yokoyama, Willumson (Anderson 60); Stansfield (Dykes 60). Subs (not used): Allsop, Iwata, Seung-Ho.

BOOKED: Gardner-Hickman.

GOALS: Stansfield (17, 43), Yokoyama (54, 74), May (59), Anderson (90+4), Dykes (90+6).

FULHAM UNDER 21s (4-2-3-1): Borto; Gofford (de Jesus 78, Park 88), Esenga, Nsasi, Amissah; Nwoko (Works 63), Donnell; Sekularac (Gordon 78), Godo, King; Osmand (Loupalo-Bi 68). Subs (not used): McNally, Ali Wahid.

GOAL: Godo (22).

REFEREE: Dale Baines.